On the Trail of Hansel and Gretel.

ONCE upon a time -- about 200 years ago to be more precise -- there were two brothers, Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, who lived in the Kingdom of Hesse, now part of Germany. They loved fairy tales and set about collecting and publishing them -- to the delight of readers around the world, young and old, forever after. You could celebrate the approaching bicentennial anniversary of the debut of ''Kinder und Hausmarchen'' (''Children's and Household Tales''), the Grimm brothers' famed collection -- it was first published in 1812 -- by strolling through Disney World's tidy faux castles alongside grinning, crinolined mascots. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]